This painting is part of a series titled "The Course of Empire", which you may observe more works from later on as part of CONFRONTATION. In this painting, there is barely any nature, urban buildings having taken over the empire. When compared to previous paintings in the series, this brings a sense of discomfort because of the sudden lack of greenery that was so prevalent earlier on. "While the tone of the painting is unquestionably bright and hopeful, close observers must be uncomfortably aware of the seething conflicts forming the young empire’s foundations." (Comegna, 2016) - Man's increasing control of nature (and what will eventually lead to a loss of control), the start of organised social groups and stratas. With every value that brings them away from nature and closer to a thriving economy, we are aware of their growing greed."Man has learned and accomplished a great deal since his time as a “savage,” but his rise in this particular civilization has been marked by conquest and exploitation stretching beyond the mere felling of surrounding forests. The empire has, through the projection of power abroad, exploited and constrained the liberty of its neighbors." (Comegna, 2016). Actions such as these do not come without consequences. Something is growing within this painting, which is of an empire acting at its peak, and we are aware of this uncomfortable foreboding sense that is often part of the build-up of a confrontation.